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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Eleven came on the ride today on a really pleasant sunny day, via Central Avenue, Island Farm Road, Molesey Park Road and on to Hampton Court, through Bushy Park to Kingston, over the bridge to Kings Road and on to the pub where we ate our meal in the garden. The food is very good there and served really promptly. Graham arrived making us 12 and enjoyed lunch with us.

After lunch everyone was for home so Helen and I had a nice ride in Bushy Park before heading our separate ways.

Thank you to John Bellamy and Dave Ward for being T.E.C. and thank you everyone for a nice day.

Mark had set a challenge to finish off today.s ride by climbing the backside of Box Hill if you will excuse the pun. Have pointed out the outline of the track from the Golf Course out of Brockham I felt that we should meet the challenge and said so! No one else was interested and so rather stupidly I went my separate way alone. I did have an idea of the route from years ago when I was much younger, stronger and had a first class MTB recently stolen!
Having followed Marks advice I found what I thought was the gap in the hedge to take up a footpath which I believe was the North Downs Way. After some serious and challenging climbing I came to a junction. To the left was a fork down some steps which did not appeal. Ahead strait up the hillside under trees was a formidable steep climb with loosed chalk. I decided neither rout was for me and retraced back to the end of the Tarmac. I turned left up towards a house and there on the right was a very narrow gap and steep footpath which seemed to head more in the right direction. I plowed ahead only to be attacked on the left by Brambles on my arm and stinging nettles on my calve. The track was very narrow and on my right was a menacing barbed wire fence. I was tired after the days ride and the strength in my arms was ebbing. At this point I was not defeated by the climb but the shear concern of gashing my right arm on the barbed wire, so on two or three occasions I put my left foot down and had trouble restarting with now real width space on the track. So I part road and part pushed the bike until I came to a "T" junction with a wide tractor like track and a very easy gradient. So I thought this was it and I somehow recognized it from years ago! Onwards and upwards untill I came to some steps up a steep embankment to the left indicating the North Downs Way!? Bugger that I thought and carried on up the farm track. The the next challenge a five bar National Trust gate with a warning sign the cattle were feeding, Not only that there were numerous Cow Pats beyond the gate and even one actually on the top of the gate hanging down either side! Must have been a very acrobatic cow!
I managed with a great deal of difficulty to swing my heavy Raleigh over the gate leaving me to then climb over avoiding the dung! The gate had been padlocked. There were two further gates up ahead the middle one being open but the last padlocked again. Never the less I was making good progress or so I thought until I came to a seat with a lovely view back over the A25. I thought should I stop and admire but decided to carry on to immediately come across a sharp left turn up a steep and tricky track. I could have gone strait on but it was down some fearsome steps and too challenging for me with my bad knee and heavy bike. I thought anyway this looks like it will go up to the top of Box Hill. Well I rode steadily up the track until I came to a sharp left turn again back down the hillside down some fearsome steps. I worked out in my mind that this would take me down to the same steps I had seen earlier - South Downs Way! So I did an about turn down to the viewing point and then realised I would have to go all the way back and be defeated.
I started to go down the steps and then two walkers with a dog explained where I was and so very gingerly and in quite some pain I went very slowly wheeling my bike down the steps. There must have been 50 of them with lots of nasty tree roots. At this point I started to curse myself, why had I been so stupid and pig headed to set myself this challenge when everyone else chickened out even Mark?
Eventually I got to a track, quite steep that would eventually lead me to Tarmac. I tried many times to ride it but it was quite steep and very rutted with lots of tree routes. Eventually it flattened out and I rode to the West of the Top of the Word caravan park emerged onto Tarmac, turned right and went to the appointed tea stop. Good Cafe good bikes very friendly with some superb Boardman top end bikes (ex demo) with up to £1000 off. I was seriously tempted but not my size. There is a very nice Ladies model with hydraulic disk brakes which looked ideal for Janice.

Well I hope you will all forgive me for making this a Blog instead of a comment but I can say you all made the right choice! Maybe Mark you and I can follow your intended route on the way to the free wheel contest at Dorking if it's not wet. I have to say the tracks were very dry but I would love to retrace your intended route to learn.

While in the bike shop (former Duaphine Sport) I met some riders who will take part in the two-up Hill Climb TT at the back of Dembighs starting at 8am on Sunday 2 Oct. This event was always time keepered by Frank C. God rest his Soul!

It is normal when Elevenses is at Redhill for B Group to field a very small team but yesterday we had seven riders leaving the Methodist Centre. This compares favourably with the ride in March when we had a leader, a back marker, and a peloton of one in the middle.

Unfortunately John Austin is suffering with knee problems for which he is receiving treatment from a physiotherapist, and asked me to lead his ride.

On the way to Redhill Grant had a front-wheel puncture but mended it in time for us to arrive at the Christian Cente by about 10:45. We weren't going to gulp our coffee down too hastily so left at around 11:20.

So we rode John's route to Lingfield, climbing away from Redhill on the A25 until Nutfield where we turned South down the very scenic Sandy Lane and followed a logical path across the M23 before taking the Prince of Wales Road and others down towards Copthorne. Effingham Road led us on to the A264 which was rather busy with traffic but just before we reached the centre of East Grinstead we turned North up the Lingfield Road which was a bit of a blast, mostly downhill, getting us to The Star in Lingfied (Church Road) at 12:55.

John had planned for us to have lunch at The Greyhound but when I saw that Mark had booked A Group in there I decided it would be too much for any one pub to provide lunch to both groups, given how numerous A Group are these days. So for us The Star was a bit of a blind date but they catered for the eight of us (seven plus Ian Appleton who rode his own route to the pub) very well and especially given their capacity indoors it would be a good venue for lunch on a rainy day. But yesterday our rufty-tufty B Group chose to eat outside, enjoying an assortment of well-filled baguettes.

We took a more direct route back to cross the M23 at Shipley Bridge and to shorten the ride which John had planned around Gatwick and through Charlwood I opted to pick up part of the Tri-Vets route through Horley to loop around onto the A217 for the climb up and over into Reigate for our Tea stop at The Maison du Velo where good tea and cake was enjoyed in the happy ambience of a bike shop.

For those of us heading North there is no easy way from Reigate. Peter and Chris decided to go up Reigate Hill while Tim G and I rode back into Redhill and up the three big hills to Banstead before easier rides to our homes. Terry will have got off more lightly. Steph and Grant could see the lie of the land and peeled off before we reached Reigate.

Thanks to Tim for being back-marker and keeping the peloton under control. Thanks to everyone for coming out to enjoy yet another sunny day on the road.

A sunny start in Redhill, and fifteen of us wound our way out of town, turning off the tarmacadamed road just past Mercers Lake, to begin our climb to the Pilgrims Way. A bit of gravel, in good condition and easy enough, then back to the tarmac until we got to the corner of Spring Bottom Lane. A quiet country lane now, but this was part of the Old Road/Pilgrims Way that winds its way along the bottom of the Downs.

If you look at the satellite picture, you can just about make out the smudge of the ancient track in the field. Long since ploughed out, it follows the line of the margin between the chalk and the arable land, as it does all the way to Canterbury.

We went along Spring Bottom Lane, then Hextalls Lane and Roughets Lane, where more of the surface of the Old Road is visible. Arriving at the gates of a private house we had to turn away from the Old Road on to another track, climbing up to the brow of the hill. Several houses and estates interrupt the route along this part of the Downs, but, happily, pleasant alternatives are usually to hand.

Here we enjoyed the 'Good run. Smooth Gravel surface.' offered by the CTC in 1893, crossing the A22 by the magnificent bridge that Sustrans has installed. Then it was the old London Road 'loose and rutty, sharp bend at the finish' which hasn't changed much since then, before climbing again to the back entrance of Woldingham School. A couple more bits of Old Road as we went along here, but much interrupted by later works.

Suddenly, we were back on the tarmac road, and back in the 21st century. It wasn't all bad, as we got some good riding in quiet lanes, taking the opportunity to revive the old Wayfarers' tradition in Crowhurst, where we stopped to look at the yew.

There's no doubt that it is a very old tree - here's Keith inside it. Some say it's 1000 years old, some say older. Jolly old, anyway.

A good lunch at the Greyhound in Lingfield, where Geoffrey Shields was waiting for us. The Senior Citizens' menu, main course and pud at a reasonable price, went down well, then on we went, following, sometimes reversing, parts of the tri-vets 100 mile route to Brockham.

They're starting to build the bonfire, so it must be nearly Winter. We went on to the Coach Road, which gave us a good view of a track up Box Hill, but the time for tracks, and hills, was over, and by a show of hands the peloton voted to go to Pilgrim Cycles, which seemed a fitting finale.

While we were there, we chatted about bikes, oddly enough. People were generally pleased with the way their tourers - and roadsters - had performed on some very old roads. But none was as pleased as Sir William Magnay was with his Rover. As he says in the 1893 guide 'I am in the habit of riding long distances over all kinds of roads, and am happy to say I have never met with the slightest mishap ..... For easy running I consider the 'Rover' unequalled; great speed is attained with the minimum of exertion.'

If you look carefully, you can see that Sir William's Rover has the same tyres as I have. No brakes, though.

A grand day out in good company. My thanks to Mike Barrett for his efficient back marking, and to all who took a turn at corner marking to keep us rolling along. We're good at this.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Wednesday's ride will be different. As some of you will know, I've been foraging about on the North Downs this summer, looking for bits of the Pilgrim's Way. I've got some left-over bits that we can use on Wednesday.

There will be several short sections of ancient trackway, variously described by my 1893 CTC Road Book as 'Good run. Smooth gravel surface' and 'loose and rutty, sharp bend at the finish'. Not much change today, but it's not a mud-fest. Bring a tourer rather than your summer racer, though the racer wouldn't come to much harm.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Over the last few years, one way and another, I have begun to use fatter tyres, almost without realising it. 30s for Paris Roubaix, 37s - and indeed 50s - for snow tyres. During the same time the peloton has made the leap from 23mm tyres to 25mm tyres, which of course is indeed quite a way from the 19mm tyres that Eddy used to use when he was winning the Tour.

For the Tour of Flanders this Spring I obtained - not without difficulty - a pair of Schwalbe S-Ones, made for Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. They are racing tyres, made to race on the cobbles, and only come in 30mm. They are light, flexible and tubeless, and performed impeccably. Good grip and no punctures, at improbably low pressures.

For some reason I can't put my finger on, I later put these on my Lynskey Sportive. Just to see how they went, I suppose, but the result was quite surprising. They seemed to roll just as well as the 25mms they replaced, and the Hill of Truth, Root Hill, confirmed that this was indeed correct when I did some roll-out tests.

There are quite a few articles around supporting bigger tyres just now - Richard Hallett had a piece in Cycle a couple of months ago, for example. The argument goes that a bigger tyre will roll better, as long as it is light and flexible.

How so? Well, here's my understanding of it. The lowest rolling resistance is obtained with a steel wheel rolling on a hard flat surface. This is because the wheel is truly round, and has the least impediment to its forward motion. Over the last couple of centuries the railway companies have put a fair bit of effort into systems based on this, and it seems to work well enough.

Dunlop's pneumatic tyre of 1896 takes a different course. The slight flexibility of the tyre allows it to deform as it encounters an obstacle. The energy stored by the deflection is released again as the obstacle is passed, allowing the tyre to roll quite freely on a surface that is only fairly smooth, like a tarmac or gravel road.

This tyre was a great success, and cyclists (for they were the first) quickly realised that you wouldn't win a race if you didn't have them.

If all this is right - and I think it is - then what's the sense in having bicycle tyres that are as hard as possible, which minimises deflection? The very hard, and very round tyre will roll better on a smooth surface, like a velodrome, but in every other circumstance a softer, more flexible tyre should do better.

So I bought a set of 40mm tyres, soft, light and flexible ones, and put them on a cyclocross bike, which was the only one that has enough clearance.

I set these at 55 psi, which seemed to me improbably low, though they will accept much lower pressures, and took the bike out for last Wednesday's A Group ride. This gave the chance to try a few informal roll-out tests with other Wayfarers. The results were quite surprising, and quite counter-intuitive. The bike, which is no racer and not particularly lightweight, simply rolled away from the others. There seemed no loss on climbing, and it was particularly comfortable to ride, as the large, soft tyres masked the rubbish road surfaces we endure.

Now this isn't science, and there's not much rigour in it. But it's firmly rooted in the real world, and it's certainly worth thinking about. There must be limiting cases, but they're more than 40mm, that's for sure.

As with so much in cycling, the wheel gets re-invented (ha ha). Bicycles of this type have existed for a long time, and worked very well. What happened to them? They became unfashionable, I think, as the racers didn't use them. Take a look at these two:

If you could swap the wheels on my Condor so that it had deep tyres instead of deep rims, then you'd have pretty much the same thing. There is progress, of course - indexed gears and the possibility of tubeless tyres. In fact you can't easily make the change, as the frame is too tight, but it's something to ponder over the winter.

Another thing to note is that 'Adventure Bikes' are suddenly on trend. They always have fat tyres ... Funny old world, eh?

Thursday, September 22, 2016

I decided to have lunch at Wood Street because I had led a C+M ride to that area earlier this year sooooo, route already in my head! The whole day was enhanced by the return of yet another summer type day.

First of all I must say thank you to Ray Wren for bringing his daughter Anna on today's ride. It was a pleasure having your company Anna :)

Twenty plus B's made their way to the Basingstoke canal at Woking, following it to Brookwood, so serene and peaceful (very few dogs and pedestrians) and the folks we did meet were all very affable :) Past the Brookwood cemetery, through Pirbright to Wood St via the A324, Cobbett Hill Road and Frog Grove Lane to the Royal Oak. Do other leaders know that if you take at least ten cyclists to the pub you will receive a free lunch?? Maybe you do?! :)

Whilst eating it was decided that we would have tea at Ockham Bites so after a very satisfying 'al fresco' lunch we started our return via the bridle path to Applegarth Avenue, Southway and Egerton Road; onto a cycle/pedestrian path, into Guildford University. Our exit was onto Walnut Tree Close, through the gap in the buildings opposite the station, across the bridge over the Wey. Keeping left we had just a few more streets to negotiate before entering Stoke Park in Nightingales Road. Through the park, across the A25 to join the River Wey to cross Clay Lane and to that 'not so pleasant' ride along the cycle path of the A3 to tea and cakes and lots of chats before departing for routes various!

Many thanks to corner markers and to Terry for back marking and to Tim for his photos. Always a nice surprise when they appear on the blog!!

AND - of course - thanks to everybody for their company!!

Pam :) :)

Elevenses at the Aerodrome

B Group at the Royal Oak

Map of Pam's ride (12.4 miles a.m., 12.7 miles p.m.)

I was unable to record the afternoon route due to a technical failure, not for the first time. So I am grateful to both Ray Wren and Tony Hopkins for sending me their data. So the above is probably more accurate than usual.

For the last summer ride before the autumnal equinox I thought we ought to have a longer ride. So I planned a trip to Lands End. The more well known place of that name was rather too far so I settled on the Lands End pub in Charvil near Reading.

My arrival at Fairoaks was delayed by a visitation and the need to exchange tubes at the side of the road in Esher. As I worked I kept an eye open for passing Wayfarers to carry my apologies to Fairoaks but I saw none. But beware the all-seeing eye of Strava - I now know who passed as my back was turned!

Arriving at Fairoaks just before eleven there was a goodly crowd sitting in the sun. By ten past eleven the show was on the road and we headed along familiar roads through Windlesham, Ascot, Winkfield Row and Warfield before heading onto roads new to me.

On quiet country lanes we passed north of Binfield, south of Hurst and round the edge of the new houses in the Reading suburb of Woodley to arrive at the pub just on one o'clock.

After lunch we surveyed the adjacent ford with its 15 inches of fast flowing water. No-one volunteered to try it so we settled on just a photo.

Thanks to Geoff for the photo and for backmarking

The alternative obstacle course involved a gravely carpark, narrow bridge, even narrower gap in barriers, a bumpy muddy field, lifting the bikes over a gate or stile and another bridge. But finally we were heading east again through Hurst and Shurlock Row before the five mile blast down The Drift.

Windsor Great Park, Prune Hill, Thorpe and Chertsey brought us to Dockett Eddy Lane and a quiet ride past Shepperton Lock before tea at Gino's by Walton Bridge.

Monday, September 19, 2016

The news about the declining health of Eric Ashford (posted in this blog on September 5th) set Mark Roy to rummaging about in his photo collection to produce this wonderful photo. Eric is kneeling behind Mark with a mug of tea in his hand.

Mark has added that this photo was taken by Ernie Barnard around 1980, probably in someone's garden, back in the days when elevenses was hosted by club members.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

This Saturday, 17th September, The Ripley Bike Jumble will be at the Ripley Village Hall.It is fully booked by stall holders. Entry between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. costs £5 and after that, £1There will be another bike jumble, 5th November, at the Epilepsy Centre, Chalfont St
Peter's, Bucks. ~ Pam

On a very sunny day 21 of us set off for the White Hart in Tongham, this included two new riders Stephen and Matt plus we had Brian who normally rides with the B's.

My intention was that we would have as flat a ride as possible giving us a chance to keep up a good average. It didn't work out too badly. We left Shepperton at about 11.20 as I had trouble contacting the pub to pass on the pre ordered lunches.

We arrived at 1.00 though this may be disputed by Ged as he though I was a minute out (yer).

Unfortunately the usual method of pay for the meal and drink was not in operation, so some meals were paid for on leaving. There was a problem with a couple of orders so not as good as I had hoped, never mind: live and learn.

After lunch we happy band set off for tea at Ripley passing through Seale, Puttenham and Guildford, we took the route to Ripley via Trodds Lane giving us a sweep down to tea at Pinnocks in Ripley.

Many thanks to all the fellow riders, to Colin for back marking yet again many thanks, and to all the corner markers that kept the ride going at a decent pace.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

What a gorgeous day! Still a bit hot for comfort if any effort was required,
but certainly far better than yesterday's heatwave! A group of 14 (including
new rider, Nick Hutchings) set off from the Greeno in Shepperton heading to
Windsor for lunch. Our route was out through Chertsey, through the pretty
village of Thorpe to Thorpe Green where we turned off on to the offroad section
which cuts across to the road from Virginia Water to Egham. On cycle paths from
here to Egham, we passed the magnificent building of Great Fosters. The
barriers were down at the level crossing in Egham but fortunately we didn't have
to wait long. A climb halfway up Middle Hill brought us to Parsonage Road and a
series of right and left corners which were kindly marked by a team of willing
volunteers, as we cut across to Englefield Green and did a loop round Egham Wick
to the Savill Gardens. We entered Windsor Great Park via the Gardens and were
soon flying downhill to Rangers' Gate and across on the path which brought us
into the back of Windsor. We were now in Sustrans Route 4 territory and the
markers took us straight to The Vansittart Arms for lunch, arriving spot on
1p.m., with Tim and Nick slightly after due to Nick having had a puncture in the
Park.

We had lunch in the garden which fortunately had a nice lot of
shade and although there was rather a wait after the first batch of orders came
out, we were all finished in time for a 2.15 p.m. departure. Still following
Route 4, we headed into Windsor along by the river where there were some
stunning floral displays and a holiday atmosphere with people enjoying this
lovely day. Tea was to be at Shepperton Lock, so the route back was pretty
straightforward through Datchet, Wraysbury, Staines where we joined the towpath
at Lammas Park, and full circle back to Chertsey Bridge, down Dockett Eddy Lane
and so to the Lock. This was our first visit this year!! All except Steph
stopped for tea (she had indulged in a gorgeous looking dessert at lunchtime!)
and no-one seemed to be in a rush to leave as we enjoyed the pleasant
surroundings and watched the comings and goings of boats through the Lock.
Thanks to back-marker Pam and to all the corner-markers.

As it was nice weather and forecast was good, I decided on a longer ride. I had an old route from when I went with the original B group to Send some years ago. We were 7 who left Cobham after coffee.After the British Legion we turned left down to The Plough pub, then right towards Ockley, The Mucky Duck. Straight over to Ockham then right towards Ripley. Took a right down the high street to Tanners Road and left after The Seven Stars down Papercourt Lane. Followed to Send High Street,passing some buildings, one use to be called the Crack factory. Took a right turn to The New Inn on the corner. Had a nice lunch sitting in the garden by the Wey Navigation.For a picturesque route back we went back to Ripley and turned right up towards the Jovial Sailor, then took a left to go round the farms towards Cobham. Then went up Church Road towards Leatherhead. We dropped down to Ashtead Common and took a new route that Colin took on a Saturday afternoon ride. It comes out about 100 yds from The Cricketers pub at Stamford Green. We then went down Manor Green Road to a new coffee shop I've found called Chads. I recommend it. After coffee/ice cream/cake we went through Ewell Court park to Nonsuch. I stopped off at Cheam park to meet my daughter and granddaughter in the sand pit.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

We shall be heading out of Shepperton and heading towards Tongham for lunch at The White Hart. Our route will take us over some of the way Simon took us the other week: in short, Chertsey, Chobham, Fox Corner, Willey Green, Normandy then Tongham.

To save time the pub has asked us to pre-order so I have added a photo of the sandwich menu: I will have the full menu with me on Wednesday.

After lunch we will head to Ripley for tea via Seale, Puttenham, Compton, Guildford and just to build up an appetite we shall ride up Trodds Lane to finally swoop down to Ripley.
Let's hope the weather is kind to us and I look forward to your company.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

I expect that as with those like me that paid for badge, mine came in post this morning and It's pleasing to see effectively the winged wheel and CTC on the badge. As for the 2016 Bar, well what a fiddle to fit it to the badge. Tip make sure you set your stall out on a nice wide flat surface in case the link drops off and on the kitchen floor as mine did! Almost lost but eventually found and fitted, it's a three handed job!

This was a day for trying to link up some of the bits we normally miss but I often use en route to elevenses as varied as Cobham, Redhill and Caterham. Sixteen of us set off from Cobham to Sandy Lane and then round the country edge of the Crown Estate on Stokesheath Road to Rushett Lane. We turned onto Epsom Common at the Stew Ponds and then after a brief stop at a Coal Post ( remembering the days when even England didnt have a single market!) continued to Ashtead on a finely surfaced track across the common. From here we crossed Ashtead Park and then climbed Farm Lane to Walton Road. A further long climb up Hurst Road brought us to Walton. We had to suffer a short stretch of the A217 to reach Chipstead Lane and then took Rectory Lane to reach the High Road and down past the site of Fanny's Farm to Gatton Bottom. From Rocky Lane we took the bridleway through Gatton Park - not a great surface but fine views. Here Hans punctured but swiftly retubed and soon we were all together again below Wray Common from whence it was only ten minutes to lunch at the Skimmington Castle where we were joined by Dave Vine.

Amazingly ( to me) none of the assembled company had ever heard of the pub, let alone visited it. We should certainly return as service was very prompt, the baguettes were excellent and in this era of pub closures it is amazing to find one that doesn't even need a sign at the end of the access road to attract custom.

After lunch we headed for Betchworth and then skirted south along Gadbrook Road and Red Hill to North Holmwood and Dorking. The long drag of Ranmore Road brought a few moans but Ray showed us how to do it at 90. We looped round via Hogden lane to Bookham and the final climb brought us to Polesden Lacey. By now we were down to seven with several having left to be home early and another four leaving us at Effingham. 39.6 miles from Cobham.

Monday, September 05, 2016

Dear friends and cycling colleagues of Toni & Bernard B.
I was horrified to see Bernard's Blog and the tragic accident caused by a careless driver not looking in his rear view mirror before opening his door! I visited Toni today and he is mending and typically of a very kind and considerate man he is reluctant to take action fearing that the man may have a family himself etc! Bernard I hope will be less conciliatory The man was vile and tried to suggest that the two riders collided with each other and caused the problem. The matter has been put in t#he hands of the CTC Solicitor. I understand that Bernard is not so meek and mild like I would not be and has asked the police to prosecute!
I too was involved in an accident in 1996 when a young lady, misjudging my speed wiped me up at Belmont. I was in X-Ray at St. Helier for 2.1/2hrs and not a single bone was broken!!??. It took six years to get a settlement via the CTC but know I have a severely arthritic right ankle which is now causing serious problems with my left ankle through over compensation and effort! Life is never the same again after a serious bike accident so I would encourage both Bernard and Toni to pursue this claim to the full!
Best regards, happy and safe cycling!

Pam has received this message from Tony Ashford concerning the health of his father Eric. Eric is a veteran Sou'Wester and in recent years those of us who go to France for the Dieppe Raid have met him and his family in la Plage Hotel. If you know any of Eric's contemporaries who are no longer active in our club please pass this news on to them.

As you
probably know, my father Eric has been in declining health over the last few
years. As things stand at present, the doctors think that his days are, putting
it brutally, numbered. However I know that he would like his former fellow
riders in the Sou' Westers to be informed of his condition, and later on, of his
passing. I was wondering if I could ask you to give me the contact details of
the members with whom he socialized so that I can do this. Alternatively, maybe
this email could be forwarded to all the members, and those that wish to contact
me can do so, and I can take it from there.

Sorry to
trouble you with this, and for a pretty depressing email.

We still intend to come to
Dieppe next June, so I hope to meet up with you and other Sou'Westers
again.

They promise a return of summer by Wednesday. The route will be a mixed bag of lanes, common, parkland ( possibly), and a few bits of unavoidable main road to join it all together. A bit lumpy in the middle of the morning ride and one long hill mid afternoon followed by a gentle climb to another summit finish. Lunch at the Skimmington Castle on Reigate Heath. Potentially two offroad sections in the morning - one mostly smooth and I'll check it out on Weds en route to Cobham, the second we have done earlier this year but it was rougher than I remembered so by common consent only!!

Sunday, September 04, 2016

Tony Ditalia and I were cycling side by side along Bushey Road (which runs down the side of Sutton Bus Garage) on our way to Wayfarers when the driver of this car:

opened his door, just as Tony was passing. Tony stood no chance to swerve or brake, his front wheel hit the edge of the door and over he went. He in turn knocked me off too. That's him on the LHS of the photo, still on the road. He was in agony, it was several minutes before he managed to struggle to his feet.

The car driver was far from apologetic, he was aggressive saying, expletives omitted, that we had crashed into each other. As if! I think you can see his aggression on his face:

He, the driver, had already phoned for an ambulance by the time I picked myself up. I was quick to phone the police. So within a few minutes we had two police cars and an ambulance. There's a camera on the bus garage so I'm hopeful that it will show what happened. As you might imagine, we're keen to see the driver prosecuted.

Tony was still in considerable pain, I feel sure he must have fractured a rib or two. We were dealt with well at St Helier's hospital. Tony was hurt more badly than me. My elbow was my worst injury:

I spoke to Tony earlier today. He's still in pain when he moves and sleeping is difficult.

Friday, September 02, 2016

Well here goes the Blogs seem to be the same as before, much better than KPRC which I can't get on with so here we go. Sorry I don't have an appropriate bike photo right now but there is more to life than cycling so I went to the Nottinghill Carnival, what a nightmare never again, glad I did not take my bike.

Thursday, September 01, 2016

We had our 11s at Kingston Bradbury Centre where several non riders go to
meet up.After cake and coffee, eight riders set off towards Ham along the river
towards Teddington. I then took a right turn after the bridge towards
Twickenham. Still by the river to Richmond bridge. Crossed over the main road
to pick up the alley ways to Isleworth, where we enjoyed lunch sitting outside
at The London Apprentice.After lunch, several made their way home and 3 of us went to Ewell Court Park
for tea.Lynda